Google launches two new Android apps to help people with hearing difficulties

Google launches two new Android apps to help people with hearing difficulties

Internet search giant Google has launched two new apps designed to help deaf and hard-of-hearing people. The Live Transcribe app works as a transcription tool for the people with severe hearing impairment, whereas the Sound Amplifier app is said to enhance the clarity and volume of sound with an aim to assist people with partial hearing impairment. “With both Live Transcribe and Sound Amplifier, our goal is to help the hundreds of millions of people who are deaf or hard of hearing communicate more clearly,” said Google in a blogpost

Live Transcribe and Sound Amplifier availability

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Both applications will be available on Google Play Store. While the Sound Amplifier app is available on the Play Store and comes pre-installed on Pixel 3, the Live Transcribe will be gradually rolled out in a limited beta to users worldwide via the Play Store and pre-installed on Pixel 3 devices.

Live Transcribe features

Available in over 70 languages, the Live Transcribe application aims to turn speech into real-time captions using just the phone’s microphone. The application also enables two-way conversation via a type-back keyboard for users who can’t or don’t want to speak, and connects with external microphones to improve transcription accuracy.

Users will have to enable it in Accessibility Settings, then start Live Transcribe from the accessibility button on the navigation bar.

Sound Amplifier features

This app was announced at the Google I/O in 2018. Smartphone users can use Sound Amplifier on with wired headphones to filter, augment and amplify the sounds in the environment.

The application is claimed to increase the quiet sounds, at the same time not over-boost the loud sounds. The application with allow users to customize sound enhancement settings and apply noise reduction which is said to minimize distracting background noise.